snark: a (well-deserved) attitude of mocking irreverence and sarcasm

Why Salem Political Snark? SO MANY REASONS!

(1)Keeping Them Honest. There's a whole lot of sleaze going on in politics these days. Too many public figures think they can say or do outrageous stuff, and people won't notice. Or, care. Well, Salem Political Snark does! Like the saying goes, we're doing the Speak Truth to Power thing.

(2) Standing Up For the Little Guy/Gal. In Salem, as elsewhere, the folks who already have money and power try to get more by buying elections, manipulating the media, and making backroom deals. This town has its own version of the 1%, which does its best to keep on top of the 99%. Can a cheapo Salem Political Snark blog run by an old retired guy make a difference? Hell, yeah! (Or so I hope.)

(3) Satire and Sarcasm is Freaking Fun. My wife and I are longtime lovers of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Bill Maher, and others who poke fun at political shenanigans. This blog ain't them. But they inspire Salem Political Snark. And you can read this blog for free. With no ads!

(4) Salem Needs Better. Look, I admire anyone who runs for public office, or is active in the public sphere. Our current crop of City leaders can use some improving, though. Salem Political Snark will help citizens sort out the valuable wheat from the worthless chaff. (In case you're wondering... yes, we'll go after progressives as well as conservatives if they're deserving of a Snark.)

Lastly, you'd be justified in thinking, Hey, isn't this Salem Political Snark guy also worthy of ridicule? This Brian Hines dude can be egotistical, full of himself, self-centered, irritating, verbose, judgmental, and an all-around asshole.

Absolutely! And that description even fits on one of my Good Days!

But here's the thing: I'm not an elected or appointed official. I don't control public policy decisions. I don't spend taxpayer money (except my social security check). I haven't promised voters that I'll be their "public servant."

Also, Salem Political Snark isn't out to take cheap personal shots. When this blog is snarky about someone, it will be because of what they've done, not who they are. We're all flawed, struggling, imperfect human beings trying to do the best we can.

However, when someone chooses to jump into the political spotlight, they should expect that what they do and say there is fair game for political commentators. Like, Salem Political Snark.

Give the Salem Political Snark Facebook page a "like." That way you'll get new blog Snarks in your Facebook feed. Another way to make sure you keep up on posts from this blog is to use a newsreader like Feedly, my favorite.

Just put in the Salem Political Snark URL in the Feedly "Add Content" box: http://hinessight.blogs.com/salempoliticalsnark/